Asset pricing and imperfect foresight

Dynamic asset pricing with imperfect foresight (HREC 1749620.1)

Introduction

The aim of this investigation is to determine what impact uncertainty about future prices has on the actions of market participants today. This project has been approved by The University of Melbourne’s Human Research Ethics Committee, and internally funded by The University of Melbourne.

What I will be asked to do?

Should you agree to participate, you will complete a computer trading task. The aim of the task is to produce as many ‘Widgets’ as possible. To produce Widgets, you will need to gather steel, wood and plastic by trading in an online market. Plastic can replace either steel or wood when producing Widgets, but neither steel nor wood can replace plastic. Plastic can be used to trade for steel in a steel market and it can be used to trade for wood in a wood market. This situation will be replicated a number of times, alternating between situations where you can trade in all markets and situations where you must first trade steel and then trade wood.

The estimated time of commitment will be about 2.5 hours. Participation in this study is completely voluntary and the information collected will remain confidential. You will receive between $40 and $60 for your participation. Part of the payment will depend on the number of Widgets produced over the course of the experiment. The more Widgets produced, the higher your earnings.

How will my confidentiality be protected?

Any identifiable data which you provide will be stored in password-protected files, and will only be accessed by the researchers. The information you provide will be safeguarded subject to any legal requirements, and will be destroyed at least 5 years after final publication of results. Any publications or presentations resulting from this study will be based on de-identified data only.

What if I want to withdraw from the research?

Participation in this research is completely voluntary. You are free to withdraw at any time and to withdraw any unprocessed data previously supplied. This would have no effect on your relationship with any member of the Department of Finance at the University of Melbourne. It would not affect your grades, assessment or any treatment that you would otherwise be eligible for.

Where can I get further information?

If you have not understood any of this information, please contact us at bmm-lab@unimelb.edu.au. This research project has been approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of The University of Melbourne. If you have any concerns or complaints about the conduct of this research project, which you do not wish to discuss with the research team, you should contact the Manager, Human Research Ethics, Research Ethics and Integrity, University of Melbourne, VIC 3010. Tel: +61 3 8344 2073 or Email: humanethics-complaints@unimelb.edu.au All complaints will be treated confidentially. In any correspondence please provide the name of the research team or the name or ethics ID number of the research project.